February is a perfect month to visit Madrid. Its warm enough to have lunch outside (my favorite part of each day), the tourist sights aren’t crowded and the flights are cheap ($400 round trip from Boston!).
Itinerary
I recommend staying in Madrid for at least 4-5 full days which includes day trips to Toledo and Segovia.
Arrival Day: Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor
I like to do an initial walk through of the most famous landmarks on the first day. For Madrid we walked through Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor and the surrounding neighborhood. We came back to these spots many times throughout the visit so this was just a first pass to really convince ourselves that we had arrived.
Tapas
One of the main attractions of Madrid is its food. Tapas to be exact. You’ll find tapas everywhere. One of our favorite activities was to take a “Tapas and History” tour from Devour Madrid. We spent the evening with our guide, Ewen, who lead us around Madrid to eat the best tapas, learn some history and consume some traditional Spanish drinks. Lets just say we made a lot of friends by the end of the evening!
Prado
Going to Madrid without visiting the Prado is like going to Paris without visiting the Louvre. Make sure to pick up the museum map when you walk in and decide what you want to see. The museum is huge and you don’t want to miss the good stuff before you’re too tired.
The pride of the museum is Velazquez’ Las Meninas. If you read a little bit about it before you go (or while you’re there) you’ll enjoy it even more. Missing that painting is like missing the Mona Lisa. Wait, did I tell you that the Prado also has its own Mona Lisa?
Besides Velazquez, don’t miss the paintings by Goya, El Greco and Peter’s favorite, El Bosco. That guy is weird (El Bosco, not Peter).
Reina Sofia
The Museum Reina Sofia was awesome! It’s Madrid’s modern art museum and it opened in 1992 inside a remodeled 18th century hospital. Many of its works were transferred there from the Prado.
DO NOT START ON THE FIRST FLOOR! We mistakenly started on the first floor. Rookie mistake. The good stuff is all on the SECOND FLOOR and by the time we got there we were pooped.
The pride of the Reina Sofia is Picasso’s Guernica. I read up on the painting before I went and was really glad I did. Besides the history of Guernica, the history of the actual painting is also really interesting. I think I remember seeing Guernica as a kid when it was at the MOMA. Guernica is never doing another road show, so if you want to see it, get yourself to Reina Sofia.
Retiro Park
Retiro Park is Madrid’s Central Park. Make sure you visit the Monument Alfonso and its pond. (Ok, I’ll admit it, that’s actually all we visited at the park but we definitely got a feel for how pretty it was and how many people are there enjoying the sunshine.)
Shopping
You’ll find lots of good shopping in Madrid. The Cortes Ingles is their big department store. Go to the Gourmet Experience and check out the great view.
We visited a great leather shop, Taller Puntera, where you can see them making the bags right there in the store. Here’s my favorite souvenir of the trip.
